1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a rocket, and more particularly to a propulsion enhancement arrangement for a rocket which is capable of substantially increasing the hitting range and acceleration of the rocket without inducing significant weight and fuel consumption thereof.
2. Description of Related Arts
Rockets have widely been used for accomplishing a wide variety of purposes, though most of which are of military nature. Conventionally, rockets can broadly be divided into two distinct types in terms of the principles or source of energy by which they propel when they are launched. The first category is known of a xe2x80x98self-propellantxe2x80x99 type. As the name implies, each of the rockets concerned usually comprises a propeller wherein compressed air is flowed out therefrom so as to, by simple theory of fluid mechanics, xe2x80x98pushxe2x80x99 the rocket in a predetermined or targeted direction at a very high speed.
The second category of rockets is those dependent upon an xe2x80x98externalxe2x80x99 source of propulsion. What is meant here is that the rockets concerned need to be propelled by a launching device which utilizes highly pressurized air or impulse of controlled combustion to xe2x80x98pushxe2x80x99 the rear portions of the rockets so as to accelerate or propel them at an extremely high speed. A distinguishing feature of this kind of rockets is that they generally possess extremely high degree of acceleration when launched.
As one might foresee, the utilization of rockets involves precise control and monitoring of the whole launching and hitting processes which in turn require sophisticated equipments and well-qualified personnel. All these, plus the potential disastrous consequences if the rockets are improperly or unlawfully handled, make the operation both extremely expensive as well as restrictive, i.e. beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Nevertheless, the chase of more effective propulsion methodologies and cheaper operation or manufacturing cost of rockets is still prevailing. The operation implication of the second category of rockets is that a complicated launching device is usually needed to provide satisfactory acceleration and the hitting range of the rockets.
By way of comparison, on the other hand, the first category of conventional rocket involves no less problems than its first counterpart. As a matter of practical constraints, the acceleration of the rockets, when launched, is quite limited, and at least to be significantly lower than that of the rockets of the first type. The underlying reason is that for those first type rockets, their propellants, due to engineering difficulty, only can provide a rather limited acceleration to the rockets. Moreover, this kind of rockets can, due to its operational principles, usually have a shorter hitting range as compared with the second kind of the rockets.
As a result, for the first category of conventional rockets, their effectiveness and values with regard to their practical applications are substantially limited, if not unsatisfactory. Indeed, no one is willing to wield a low quality tools, or to say that in a narrower sense, weapon, in a critical circumstance wherein a mere malfunction or xe2x80x98incompetencexe2x80x99 of equipments may decide an unfavourable consequence.
The present invention serves to substantially overcome the above difficulties so as to provide a more optimal yet novel rocket, indirectly contributing technological advancement of human beings.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement that is capable of, when launched, enhancing a hitting range and acceleration thereof as compared with conventional arts of the same kind.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement which comprises a propulsion impulse generator, installed between a warhead and a propelling actuator, adapted to generate a controllable propelling impulse to further propel the warhead so as to substantially enhance the hitting range and the acceleration thereof without causing fatal damage to the warhead to fail its mission.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement which can substantially reduce the overall weight of the rocket to enhance the hitting range and the acceleration of the rocket. Accordingly, the weight of the propulsion enhancement arrangement is 10% of the overall weight of the rocket in comparison with the convention propulsion system which is 90% of the overall weight of the rocket.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement which can not only enhance the hitting range and acceleration thereof, but also can preserve its accuracy in hitting a predetermined target.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement which does not significantly consume more fuel or energy of any forms than the conventional self-propellant rockets.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement, wherein the cost of the propulsion enhancement arrangement is inexpensive comparing with the conventional propulsion system, so as to substantially reduce the overall cost of the rocket.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rocket with a propulsion enhancement arrangement which does not significantly alter the original design of each part of the rocket so as to minimize the manufacturing and related cost of the present invention. Accordingly, the structural design of the propulsion enhancement arrangement is capable of being incorporated with a conventional missile to enhance the performance thereof such as the hitting range.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a rocket, comprising:
a warhead;
a propellant actuator which is spacedly provided on a rear side of said warhead for generating propelling force to propel the warhead in a predetermined orientation and at a predetermined speed; and
a propulsion enhancement arrangement which comprises:
a propulsion impulse generator, which is mounted between the warhead and the propellant actuator, comprising:
a storage chamber for storing a predetermined amount of explosive materials therein; and
a time-sensitive trigger device operatively communicated with the storage chamber, wherein when said rocket is launched at a predetermined elevation, the time-sensitive trigger device is capable of triggering a propelling explosion of the explosive materials in the storage chamber in such a manner that the warhead is exploded to intactly separate from the storage chamber and is propelled by a propelling impulse generated by the propelling explosion in the predetermined orientation and acceleration.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.